HP Announces Pre 3, Veer, and TouchPad to Compete with iOS

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HP Announces Pre 3, Veer, and TouchPad to Compete with iOS

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Looks like a real competitor has stepped up to the plate. This time around, instead of Palm making the announcement, it was HP. Palm was sold last April to HP for $1.2 billion. Along with that came Palm’s WebOS, and today HP announced two phones (the Pre 3 and Veer) and the TouchPad to compete with Apple’s iOS ecosystem.

Pre 3, Veer, and TouchPad Enter the Mobile Game

The Pre 3 has a similar form factor with the original Pre, a slideout keyboard and WebOS. The device looks kinda “fat” compared to the iPhone 4 and Android phones. However, upon seeing a hands on demo by Engadget, the Pre 3 was very snappy and responsive due to its 1.4GHz processor.

Also, the Pre 3 interacts well with the newly announced TouchPad. You can share any webpage from the Pre 3 to the TouchPad by just “touching” the phone to the tablet. There is also integration so you can respond to texts etc from the TouchPad itself. HP has come up with a real competitor to the iPhone and iPad with WebOS, distancing itself from the plethora of fragmented Android phone.

The Veer is a new model that looks like a mini Palm Pre, and appears as the next iteration of the old Palm Pixi. It’s the size of a credit card, but much fatter. Looks cute, and is something fresh for those looking for smaller phones.

WebOS is the Platform that Unites All Devices

By using WebOS as its platform, HP has come out of the gate with a family of devices that will give Android a run for its money. As for overtaking the iPhone and iPad, that remains to be seen given Apple’s lead in both areas. There was no formal date or pricing announced for the TouchPad, but that it was coming in six months (hello iPad 2?).

What did HP do right today? They announced some really cool and intuitive products based on WebOS that make hundreds of fragmented Android smartphones/tablets look like an afterthought. Moreover, they made iOS users open their eyes to a real competitor, something that could be worth jumping ship for. However, no prices or release dates announced today, only the words “Summer”. Will these new WebOS devices be on theÂ back burnerÂ after iOS 5, iPhone 5 and iPad 2 refreshes?

What did you think of today’s HP announcement? Would you switch away from iOS, or are you in too deep?

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It’ll be interesting to see how webOS pans out. When the first Pre was revealed, the tech community lusted over it and said it was going to be an iPhone killer. Well, it wasn’t anywhere close to living up to expectations. That’s not to say it was a bad phone or a bad platform; it just never caught on. With HP’s marketing muscle in there, webOS might have more of a fighting chance. Time will tell.

Ryan

In terms of tablets i’m pretty certain I will choose the TouchPad over the iPad… And the iPad 2 will have to be amazing to change my mind but I see no point in owning more than one iOS device… As for phones i’m content with my iPhone 4 and will not be updating unless the next gen iPhone is dual-core with support for the 1700 bandwidth…

Bob

I’m already entrenched in Apple world…iTunes, iOS apps, MobileMe (syncing all my data to multiple devices easily). Looks like a good option for other people though!

Anonymous

The Pre3 didn’t impress me enough to drop my iPhone 4 but the TouchPad was really nice. Depending on price and the “app store” that develops, I might choose it as my tablet when I decide to get one.

Anonymous

Great question: are you in too deep?

That’s always been my concern with Apple: it’s hard to switch to anything else if you jump in too deep. I’d love an iPhone alarm clock, apple tv and mobile me, but what if my next device isn’t iOS? Lots of useless hardware is what, and a huge PITA transferring my media collection. Still…. 😉